This is the third time in three and a half years (and one of those was chasing our friend and his spaniels down the track, so not quite the same). It is not really in character. Both times he has headed off in the same direction, which fortunately is away from all roads. There is a kennels over that way, and woodlands where lots of dogs walk, so I suspect it is just a particularly alluring bitch. I think I've forgiven him now. He has been extremely good on his walk this morning and got a gold star for his little "loose-lead exercise". He is definitely sucking up to me.
Way to go Pongo! And well done Rosie for moving on & not dwelling on his misdemeanour - that can be very hard to do.
There are hedgehogs in our garden , in the wild part ( which is what I call the part I cant be bothered to cultivate ) and Nell has discovered them . She isn't causing harm, just fascinated to the point of obsession ! Gentle exercise eh ? Day seven and she is on springs x
On a walk today... came across a couple feeding fistfuls of white bread to ducks...Bramble thought this was amazing...me not so. Hubby asked politely if they minded waiting until we had walked past..in reply they said quite rudely we should have our dogs on a lead while they feed the ducks... jeez.... On the other hand great desensitisation for Bramble...
Feel your pain...Casper is terrible for disappearing...just when we have plugged one hole he finds another! So stressful though..
We are very lucky where we live that there is relatively little risk to Pongo himself. Few roads, and I think dog-napping would be quite unlikely. I know that 99.9% of the time he is either going to find his own way back or (more likely) find another dog-walker and attach himself to them. He has his collar on with our phone numbers, so the sensible thing to do is just wait by the phone. But it is desperately frustrating knowing that there is nothing more to be done. I could cheerfully throttle him.
We had great walk with a friend today. Soda is a BC and probably the only BC we've ever got on well with. Ella had a lovely swim in the lake but then about 5 mins before we got back to the car she found this big muddy puddle and lay down in it! She had to be wiped down and stay in the kitchen for a while when we got home and oh my goodness did she sulk
Tonight is our first group obedience class at the Kennel Club (the indoor venue for winter) since Puppy Class back in August/September last year. We've been back twice since then for grading, and it's just the worst venue - one entrance in and out means you have to run the dog gauntlet; the smells of thousands of other dogs/man sweat (it's used as an indoor sports venue too); high ceiling with zero insulation so it echoes like a church and you can't hear yourself think when it rains. Xena has settled down massively at the outdoor venue, especially since turning 1, so I'm really curious/terrified to see how tonight goes. Last time I brought what I thought was the big guns - mackerel in tomato sauce - and she completely ignored me for almost the entire session. So that's the kind of distraction I'm working against. Pray for me
I can just hear her, "Dear Diary, it has been 289 weeks since I have last tasted freedom. My human keeps me stuck in the kitchen prison all day. I can't remember the last time I tasted fresh air. Send help."
Oh gosh, I feel you! I'm not looking forward to when I sign up for classes in a month or so, my lab hasn't been since he was a little thing He is at his absolute most excited around other dogs, which is why I'm doing this, but also means I'm probably going to be absolutely mortified. If I can make it into the venue and to my seat without being pulled over I will count it as an amazing success.
Xena will be fine, she has matured since the last time. Expect good things, not bad. Coco pulls like a mad, bouncing thing every time we approach our training venue. He's a nightmare, it's like he's never been trained, but once inside & working he is much better.
I've spent more time training the 50m walk from the car to the training ground than actual obedience training . I even spent a few months getting there an hour before training so that we could walk up before anyone was there and work on being calm while others arrived Honestly people that don't own labs just don't understand!
It's the look that passes between Labrador owners that makes me smile. It's a look between sympathy and understanding and relief that for once it's not them
